Latest Press Release from Brandon for Athens Committee

We hope we're not going to duke it out with them,” stated Georgia State Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers.

First of all, I agree with the Republican leader that “property tax should be fair [and] transparent.” The legislation proposed by Rogers can be seen as a good idea from one perspective, but I disagree that overhauling the system is the answer.
I support the aspect of the bill that promotes transparency by clarifying what assessors are allowed to take into account when deciding the fair market value of a property. I also support the provision that will allow people to pay their taxes on an installment plan.

We're concerned, however, about assessment provisions limiting the ability of local governments to raise necessary funds. Athens-Clarke County has some of the lowest effective taxes of comparable cities in Georgia. Any attempt to further limit us from raising revenue seriously endangers our abilities to provide the services that our residents demand of us. As William James once said, “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.” Hypothetically speaking, a bill that would help thirty percent and hurt seventy percent is a bill that I would personally describe as backwards, careless, and selfish logic. If local governments are forced to cut basic funding for public services, it will drop the quality of life significantly, which will create more problems than solutions.

Majority Leader Chip Rogers also openly admitted that the measure “could backfire in a booming market,” and he says his ultimate goal remains eliminating all property taxes. To the point, there are no provisions listed that would help this bill adapt to a booming market. Furthermore, if the plan is enacted, we will watch our public services slowly lose funding because of a statewide shortfall in local revenues, thus proving the bill is, overall, regressive. Rogers admits that his ultimate goal is to see the property tax eliminated. This would cause a large increase in sales tax, which would likely destroy Georgia communities, especially our valued towns and small cities, one-by-one, while steering clear of the Atlanta area.

Georgians take pride in our traditions of home rule and strong local government. We cannot afford to hurt the bedrock of our state--our local governments-by passing this legislation or any other, such as the often-proposed and often-defeated TABOR law, that limits local officials’ ability to do what’s best for their people



Brandon Shinholser is a candidate for Mayor of Athens, GA. His website can be found at http://www.brandon2010.com/.

New Press Release from the Brandon for Athens Committee

A More Transparent Government

For far too long, government has been able to work behind closed doors,
spending the people's hard-earned money with little-to-no input from
outside. In May 2005, the leadership of Mayor Davison and the Commission
took transparency to the next level for Athens-Clarke County. The mayor and
commission worked to see that more information from the local government
was placed the county website for the public to see. This was a large step
for our city, even though we see this as a common sense approach to helping
connect the people with their government.

It's time to take the same kind of progressive action we've seen in
cities across our nation; it's time to change the status quo and give the
people a larger stake in their community. We've all seen elected
officials promise time and again that they'll have transparent
government, but nothing ever happens. Not here. Not now. I will implement
policies toward true transparency in the government of Athens-Clarke
County.

I will spearhead the establishment of a public database, as part of a new
county website, where all government revenues and expenditures will be
available for public scrutiny, line-by-line. As well, all government
contracts will be posted on the website to increase competition in the
marketplace. I stand firm on the concept of transparency because of the
positive effects it can have on a community. The elimination of wasteful
spending provides relief to the city budget by saving money that can be put
towards other projects on a refined scale of priority.

I will work hard to give you the tools you need to educate yourselves on
the workings of the county government, and then I will give you the access
you need to do something about it. Gone are the days of closed-door
commission meetings. The only meetings that will be held behind closed
doors are those on sensitive topics such as personnel. All in all, a
transparent government is a better government, accountable to the people,
and because of that accountability, more careful about how it uses the
resources given to it by the people.

An open government saves you money, and I will work to lead the way not
only for the people of Athens, but to serve as an example of what
transparency can do for the people of Georgia and beyond. The other
candidates are still on step one when it comes to issues like transparency
reform. It makes me question their ability to lead, and you should too. To
me, it seems like they are trying to run a car without wheels- now that is
quite a dilemma and struggle of leadership that guarantees to move us
backwards.


Brandon Shinholser, Candidate
Andrew Watts, Campaign Manager



Brandon Shinholser is a candidate in the race for Mayor of Athens-Clarke
County. His website can be found at www.brandon2010.com

Press Release from the Brandon for Athens Committee: Brandon Shinholser, Candidate for Mayor of Athens, Ga

The following information is the latest press release from the Brandon for
Athens Committee.

In his platform, Charlie Maddox says that he “seeks to be the Mayor of
Athens, not the manager,” and he goes on to say that “the
administration of this City’s core activities cannot ebb and flow with
the fad politics of the week.” We can all agree that elected officials
need to set the policies, and then let the departments carry them out, but
Charlie completely ignores a key part of governance. The city charter
requires Athens-Clarke County to have a manager and lays out what the
manager does, but charters can be changed and ours needs to be changed.

Charlie acts as if the manager simply carries out policy without having any
political interest of his own. This is patently false. The manager plays
politics on a daily basis, and this must stop. It is time that the mayor
and especially the commission reassert their authority as the elected
representatives of the people. Why should we turn even more power over to
an unelected bureaucrat with his own political motives, as Charlie suggests
we do? He talks about politicians micro-managing the activities of the
departments, but isn’t that what the manager (with his unaccountable
political motives) does on a daily basis? Why do we need that extra layer
of bureaucracy between the people’s elected representatives and the heads
of the departments? Is it to protect the departments from politics, or is
it to protect the power of a single, unelected individual to govern the
county as he sees fit? Under the current charter, the mayor and commission
are forbidden from giving any orders to the department heads. Charlie tells
us that this is a good thing, but I say that it is anything but.

If elected, I will work to restore the leadership of the mayor and
commission in the government of Athens-Clarke County. Strong leadership,
from strong leaders who represent the views of the citizens is needed now,
in these difficult times, more than ever. It’s time that the commission
had real oversight authority, the authority to remove department heads who
are mismanaging their resources, to the detriment of our citizens, and the
authority to directly question and challenge them, as well as issue them
binding orders. Charlie might say that this puts too much power in the
hands of one individual, but I say that that’s how it is now, and the
power should be dispersed to all, through their elected representatives.

Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address spoke of government of the people, by the
people, and for the people. Charlie would instead support government of the
elite, by a single unelected bureaucrat, and for himself and special
interests. The choice, therefore, is clear this November. As mayor, I will
lead the way to a more democratic and transparent government, a true
government of the people, elected by the people, and serving as advocates
for the people.





Brandon Shinholser, Candidate
Andrew Watts, Campaign Manager
staff@brandon2010.com
(706)-363-0242


Brandon Shinholser is a candidate in the race for Mayor of Athens-Clarke
County. His website can be found at http://www.brandon2010.com/.